- Spaniard eventually prevails 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-4 in Melbourne
- Briton succumbs after 14 hours on court over three matches
A day and a half after seemingly dragging his body to the extremes of its physical limits, Andy Murray was back and at it again. He started his third-round match an exhausted shadow of himself, barely even able to move, but then he loosened up. He began to play. One fist pump at a time, he let every single onlooker know. Somehow, he ended up snatching a set for himself.
It was an astonishing, thrilling last stand that encapsulated all that he is about, but it was not enough. As Murray’s immense workload finally caught up with him, his resurgent Australian Open came to an end as he eventually fell 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-4 to Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain.